Process of shucking oysters.



PATENTED MAR. 26, 1907. E. L. TORSGH & J. HJPABKER. PROCESS OF SHU'GKIN'GOYSTERS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3. 1905.

INVENTEIRS ECAL'Zi/ l ra A TORNEY 4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES No 848,608. PATENTED MAR. 26,1907; E. L. TORSGH & J. H. PARKER.

PROCESS OF SHUGKING OYSTERS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3. 1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

wnmzsszs: INVENTORS E i/bound I (kind/9325M ATTORNEY v PATENTED MAR. 56,1907. E. L. TORSGH & J. H. PARKER. PROCESS OF SHUGKING OYSTERS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3; 1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Q NVENTURS WITNESSES ATT No 848,608.- PATENTBD MAR. 26, 1907. E.- L. TORSOH & J. H. PARKER.

' PROCESS OF SHUGKING OYSTERS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3, 1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

WITNESSES:

ATTORN UNITED srlrrnsgrrn tr orrrcn.

EDWARD L; TORSCH AND To all whom it may concern:

Be. itknown that we, EDWARD L. Tonscn and JoHN HENRY PARKER, citizens of the JOHN HENRY PARKER,. OF BALTIMORE, I MARYLAND. PROCESS OF SHUCKING OYSTERS.

Specification of Letters Patent, ratented March 26, 1907. Application filed June3,1905. Sci-ialllo.268,61 0. Y

' point of travel, then V ofi more of the material of the shefi all; a further part of United States of America, and residents of Baltimore city, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain 'new and useful Improvements in Processes of Shucking Oysters, of which'the following is a specification. The invention herein described relates to a rocess of shucking oysters automatically, om the point of placing them into a certain position manually to the stage of freeing the meats from the shells, so that the meats are found in one receptacle and the shells in another.

By: the resent methods of shucking oysters many hundreds of hands have tobe employed, and in some cases must be transported great distances from their homes to the shucking-houses at a great expense for travel and maintenance. Accordmgly our object, primarily, is the saving of labor. The inventipn is useful also in the smaller shuck. ing establishments, as the process is rapid and convenient.

'Heretofore oysters have had holes sawed into them automatically and the ends of the shells knocked off automatically, but the remainder of the operation had to be accomplished by hand, thus saving no time, labor, or expense, for the operator would be'obligedto handle each oyster a ain as it came from the machine, pry open-t 'e shells, cut out the meats, and throw the meats into one receptacle and the shells into another. Further, it would take longer for themachine to cut' holes and knock off the. ends, including the time for picking up the oysters, putting them in the machine,. and picking, them out again, than it would to knock ofi the ends as in the usual manual process as practiced in every oyster-house and restaurant.

I after t in a certain position.

Without defining nowthe various scopes ofthe invention, which are attended to in the claims, our process consists in automatically causin the meats to be freed from the shells he oysters have been placed manually The general outline, of the more detailed process consists in causing the oysters to travel along a path'm succession with all their hinges moving in the-same line, grinding off parts of the shells at the hinges at one the travel, and soon until the hinges are destro ed and holes are formed at the places of the 'nges existing ori all separating the 3 shells from each other or e arging the holes,

severing the meats from the shells bi an action from without, and through the 0 thus made, removing the meats through said holes, and depositing them at one location and the shells at a different location.'- I The opening of the shells after the holes are out is accomplished by fingers, and the object of cutting through the hinges isto have a strong and thick part of the shells for the fingers to act upon. Also a'larger opening is possible than at the end opposite the bin e. Furthermore, the meats are not hac ed into by the grinders, as theywould be if the cutters .acted on the other end of the shells. The gills are at this opposite end, and hence they would be cut considerably. The rinding also cuts away the ligament at the inge, and thus the shells are easily pulled apart.

Figure illustrating the same in operation, certain posterior elements being omitted for preventmg confusion and certain anterior parts being broken away to exhibit parts otherwise hidden. In all the figures dotted lines represent hidden p'arts. Some elements are shown in section verticallyin Fi 1.

1 shows the action produced upon the shells. Fig. 2 is a left-hand side elevation in that phase in which an oyster is being introduced. This figure is not intended to represent allthe mechanism, but especially certain driving elements and guides from the left-hand of. the gripping-jaws while 0 en, together with the cooperating elements f dr closing and opening the jaws and afew depending elements. Fig. 5 is a'view of one of the disks and associated parts which are shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Fig. 6 is acentral sectional Fig. 1 is a diagram of the grinding-disks. Fig.

les

1 is a front elevation of the machine tog view, partly not sectioned, of the means for separating the meat of the oyster from the shells of the oyster in that phase in which the separating-fingers are entering between the shells. Fig. 7 is a cross-section at the line-A B. (See Fig. 6.) Fig. 8 is a fragmentary View of one of the cams involved in the machine.

The means for the step of feeding oysters to the machine consists of a pusher-lever 1, pivoted at its lower end by a pivot 2-in a forked bearing 3 on the base-plate 4 and having a notch 5 at its upper end, upon the lower surface of which one edge of an oyster 6 may rest, the hinge of the oyster-shells resting against the vertical surface of said notch, the opposite end of the oyster pointing toward the center of the machine. The oyster is to be placed in this position by hand; but this act constitutes the only manual operation needed, the function therefore of the pusher-lever 1 being to force the whole oyster into certain jaws, described later herein. The means for operating the pusher-rod 1 consists of a constantly-rotating gear-wheel 7 on the main shaft 8 and keyed thereto and gearing with a pinion 9, carrying a crank 10, which in turn is pivoted to a connecting-rod 11 for communicating reciprocating motion from the pinion 9 to the lever 1, which latter has a post 12 extending laterally therefrom for connecting with the rod 11. The continual rotation of the wheel 7 moves the lever 1 back and forth at suitable intervals, based in length upon the speed with which an operator may place oysters in position in the notch 5. A guidmg-bracket 13 at the sides of the lower portion of the oyster facilitates thepositioning of the oyster by the operator. The next step consists in the reception of the oyster by-the machine, the gripping of the oyster, and some subordinate steps, the construction for which and the operation thereof being next in order in this description. To assist in explaining the mechanisms, We will relate the general functions first. .The machine automatically grips the oyster with the hinge thereof at a fixed radial distance from the main shaft,whatsoever is the size of the oyster or other bivalve.

romiscuously fed into the machine; but the hinge of each is alwaysat the same distance from Fhe center of the machine.d Any number o 'pper-jaws are provide accor to the c apacity of the machinedesii' d Twelve pairs are used in the, machine shown, -the first pair being 14 and 15, the next pair 16' and 17, the next 18 and 19, thenext-20 and 21, the next 22'and 23, the next 24 and 25, the next 26 and 27, the next 28 and 29,

the next -visible ones being 36 and 37. All the jaws are mounted successively upon the periphery of a wheel 38, which is keyed to the main shaft 8, having a driven gear-wheel 39, connected up with the driving-pulleys 40 through intermediate gears and pinions 41,

Oysters may be 42, and 43, which need not be more minutely described because not involved in the novelty of the invention, belng common in most automatic machines. There is a relation between the number of pairs of jaws and the number of reciprocations of the pusher-lever sufficiently wide to receive the largest possible bivalve to be operated upon. Each jaw throughout is V-shaped, and the Vs in each pair face each other for more nearly accom; modating' the outline of an oyster. Gripping-springs 44 project like teeth from the inner" surfaces of. the jaws and pointingtoward each other for receiving oysters. The

aws are fixed to slides 45, which in turn are loosely mounted upon parallel rods 46, whose supports are. 47. The slides 45 are movable to and from each other on the-rods 46. The

means for producing-this motion consists of I a bell-crank 48 for each slide, the pivots for the cranks being at 49, forming the fulerums about which said cranks may turns There is-a tube '50, movable to and from the jaws and provided indirectly with arms 51,'whieh" are respectively pivoted to those arms of the cranks 48 thatare not pivoted'to said slides 45. 52 represents a compensating spring for assisting in the movements of the aws. The cam is represented at 53, having two guiding-surfaces, and belonging to a plate 54, which is stationary, by being mounted upon the general frame 55 of the-machine as a whole.

56, and whose other arm is 58, .which is slotted at the outer end for operating a pin 59'upon a collar 60,'wh ich is screwed fast to cram for the earn-lever, travels 'around with all the jaws, and is therefore carried by the main wheel 38. We have described "the construction of one pair of jaws and its adjuncts, but the expIanation applies to all pairs, as they are duplicates the one of the other.

We will now describe in detail'the construction and operation of a part .of the grip The roller for this cam is 56, carried by a lever whose one arm is 57 for the roller the tube 50.. The pivot 61, forming the ful-, 1

device not already fully described. he arms 51 are fixed to a tube 51', sliding in the tube 50 and carrying a nut 51" to'form an abutment for the spring 52, whose one end presses against the nut 51" and whose other end abuts against the tube 50. The-bear ings 50, secured to. the wheel 38, the

tube 50 to slide back and forth. The cam I 53 produces a positive unyielding moveonly slightly.

- is the center of ment of each lever-arm 58, and therefore of tion sooner than for smaller oysters; but still the cam action may continue, because the arms 51, being stopped from an inward central motion, willTemai'n, while the tube 150 will travel slightly away-from the arms 51 whichit may'doby sliding in the bearings and slightly compressing The tube 50 thereforev slides upon the inner tube 51 as Well as in the bearings 5Q .as soon as a rather large oyster-isgri'pped. For certainty of action up n the -.smallest probable oysters this action also takes place, although As to the details of'the di k mechanism, 'we may say that thetube 51 as at its lower end apin 65, fixedat the end nearest the center of the wheel' 38 and having acollar 65". There is a pin 65" directly in line with the pin 65 and having ahead 65 and loose in the tube 51'. The spring 66 is helical and-surrounds both the pin 65 and the pin 65 and abuts at, its opposite ends against the collar 65" and the head 65. When the rod 65 of the disk 64 is pressed into the tube 51 by the action of an oyster driven by the pusher-lever 1, it drives the head 65 and compresses the spring'66, which has 'suflicient power to maintain. an oyster against the stop 62; r. The cam 53. 's of such a contour that at the position .of a pair of jaws-for receiving an oyster the latter rests by its own weight uponthe lower jaw 15 and is carried upward by this -moving jaw before the oysterfis gripped. There is); curved-stop-plate, 62,"

having an arc-shaped -surface whose center maining stationary, of this plate is a continuation as nearly as possible of the vertical surface-5 on the pusher-rod 1. As thejaw 15 travels around the oyster 6 against the surface 5 and then against the stop-plate '62, the function of which is to insure the outer end of the oyster to be ata predetermined fixed distance from the axis of the shaft 8 whatever the eneral dimensions of the oyster. The disk 64 is on the end of a 'rod which is provided with a reg ulating-spring 66, the tube 50 containing the rod 65. The function of the disk 64 is therefore to-adjust the oyster to a' position for grinding the same before it is gripped by the aws. J \Ve willnow describe the operation of gripping the oyster. This is accomplished. by the cam 53 and the cam-roller 56, which latterisactuated by the former to operate the lever 57 58 to gradually pull the tube 50 in- 21 will have to stop in their closing ac-v the. spring 52-.

the shaft 8, and which is held by brackets 63 upon the frame 55 for reand the curved surface-- vmore or is forcedby a disk 64 first wardly' toward the shaft 8 thereby turning the bell-cranks 48 and. moving the slides 45- until they can move no further on account of the resistance olfered bythe oyster. Before the oysterhas left the plate 62 it has been fully and tightly gri ped, as'shown, by an ad- Vance oyster'6' j cam53 after the posivtion represented bythe oyster 6 is simply circular about the shaft 8, so that the jaws will'not be opened till toward the'end of the operation upon" that particular oyster.

We'will next describe the grinding means and the operation thereof. We provide sue cessivegrindingdisks 67 68 69 70 71 72, ar-

ranged peripherally just beyond the jaws which are just beyond the plateGZ, and each such disk in succession is nearer the shart 8 than the preceding one for; the p11 ose of successive deeper-grindings of the she at the hinge of the oyster, whereby a considerableaperture is produced and the hinge de.-' stroyed by the time the oyster has leftthe:

last grinding-disk." The disks are provided with driving-pulleys, respectively, 67- 68 69',- &c. These pulleys are driven in series'or units of. three each to "avoid a multiplicityof 'belts,'the belt 73 passing down through an )ening inthe frame 55, passing-over an ler 74, thence over the pulley'67 back toan idler 75, which is ad'ustablefor taking-up slack by means of the I olt 76 mo vable in the slot 77, then over the-pulley 68, then an idler 78,.then the pulley 69,-then anidler 79', and so out of: the machine. The 0 ration of this belt 73'causes the grinding-difsks. 67 68,

-&c., to spin in the direction of thearrows indicated thereon. A similar arrangement of belting, which need not be described, serves to spin the'other grinding-disks also. The grinding-disks? are upon spindles 80, *journaled in yokes 81. 82 reprcsentsadjustable arms, oneset of corresponding ends being pivoted to statlonary brackets 83, the pivot-s a less. The other corresponding ends ar linked to the s indies and rest upon adjustable screws 85', which being turned will serve as stops for regulating the distance of the grinding edges of the disks 67'68, &c.',- at suitable successive'distancesfrom the shaft 8,said screws ointingradiallyoutward. This regulation will serve not only to compensate for the wearing away of. the disks, but for regulating the depthof abrasive action upon ,the oysters and for adjusting the disks generally for diil'e-rent kinds of bivalves. The complete operation of this part of the invention is the running of the belt 7 3' and the belts for any more grinding-disks,-the resultant spinning of'the disks, and the cutting away of the hinge of the oysters in rapid succession. 1

We will now describe the construction adopted for the next step.- The generaI nature of thisrpart of theorganiaation comcm screws 84, which may be tightened prises fingers and blades which automatically enter the hole out in each oyster and sever the muscles of the oyster from both shells,

leaving the meat of the oysters free to fall out.

5 The apparatus for accomplishing this action consists of fingers 86 and 87 and their adjuncts. As the construction and operation of both are similar, only one need be elucidated. As noticed, Fig. 1 shows the device in a normal position and Fig. 6 the device during action upon an oyster 6 in the jaws for example, 23which is 'a near view of one jaw, which is closed, the oyster being .held between this and the opposite jaw 22. The

is position at which the action takes place is ust beyond the grinding-disks 71 and 72. The actuating force is derived from th ev double cam 88, which just beyond the disks, as

' shown at 89, curves away from the shaft 8 and gradually assumes a circular contour about said shaft. The roller for running in this grooved cam is 90, turning on the pin 91, which is carried by an extension 92 of a slide working in carrier 93, fixed bolted to the z 5 main wheel 38 and supporting the finger 86,

which is mounted upon a forked rod 97 by apivot 98 passing through the tines of the fork. A part of the finger is formed with a toothed segment 99, the pivot 98 being at the center 0 of the segment.

stop pin 100, pressed by the spring 101 against the segment, the s ringbox 102 being finally ivoted to the side 92 and the rod 97 extending into the box 102, against 3 5 the spring103, which acts as a cushion for the rod'97 and allows further travel. The slide 92-, together with the elements attached thereto, can be moved to and fro by the combined action of the cam 88 and roller 90.

The spring 103 continually presses against the lower end of the rod 97, which carries a pin 105, extending through a slot 106, out through the side of the tube 102. The arms 108 and 111, together with their hub 109, and the 5 inclined surface 1 10 on the arm 1 11, as shown I in Fig. 6, are journaled upon one of the guiderods 46. This is also apparent from the view in Fig. 1, but emitted from Fig. 2, and hidden in Fig, 3. Figs. 4 and 5 are especially for the 5: 'purpose of showing the grippers by thems'elves, with as few other adjuncts as possible. The spring .112 is'c'arried by the wheel 38 and presses against the arm 111 in the direction of the cam-point 113, which is carried 5 5 upon the slide 92. while'the incline 110 bears upon said camoint 113. A spring 107 is carried by the side 92 and bears upon the pivoted tube 102 toward the guide-rod 46.

Regarding the fingers 86 and 87, the brake 6Q 100 on entering a notch 100' holds the fingerf segment 99 out of engagement with the rack, 108 as soon as the cam action causes the finger 86 to turn up to the position shown in Fig.

1. This return of the finger to its normal po- 6 5 sition does not occur until after the jaws have The rod 97 has an interior.

1 gone beyond the cam-plate 124, and the ngers remain in a stationary position until they travel around in a circle and come to a point 88 on the cam 88. The spring 101 is under permanent compression for operating the stop 100. The finger is mounted indirectly upon the support 92, which is a sliding piece whose guide is the box 93, into which the support 92 fits and is retained by holdingpieces 93, fastened to the part 93, which in turn-is bolted to the wheel 38. I

When the cam-roller begins-to move outwardly from the center of the shaft 8 at the point 89 on the cam 88 in Fig. 3, it carries the slide 92, the spring-box 102, and the finger 86 outwardly in a straight path until the toothed segment 99 meets a corresponding rack cut on 108, with which it engages, a pin 100 is forced back out of a depression 100, and the finger 86 begins to describe a curved path toward the opening in the oyster revolving upon its fulcrum-pin 98 in'the direction shown by the arrow. A continued outward motion of the cam-roller 90 brings the finger into the opening in the oyster, and the parts described now occupy the relative positions shown in Fig. 6. A still further outward movement of the cam-roller 90 causes the cam-point 113 to travel along the incline 110, causing the arm 111 to swing away moving on its fulcrum 46, and the arm 108 has correspondingly moved in an opposite direction, forcing the finger 86 backward from the oyster-opening, and as the finger 87 has described a similar movement in unison with 86 the mouth or opening in the oyster has been pulled apart by the action of the fingers on opposite sides. During this last part of the outward movement of the camroller 90 the finger 86 has not revolved any farther, as it rests on the end of the oyster and is prevented thereby from doing so, and the last part of the travel of the slide 92 has compressed the spring 103, the slide 97 has traveled down into the spring-box 102, and the pin has traversed the slot 106. All of these parts now remain 111 a fixed posit-ion, while the knife or blade 119 enters the shell and separates the meat therefrom, and the oyster is emptied from the shell, after which the cam-roller 90 meets the point 88 in the cam 88, and all these movements are reversed from the order in which they were described, the fingers first coming together, swinging out of and away from the shell, assuming a position radially outward from the center of the shaft 8 and withdrawing inwardly toward said shaft and assuming the pos tion which they normally occupied beore arriving at the point 89 in the cam 88. We will-now set forth the construction for and the operation of themeans for separating the muscles of the oyster from the shells.

The flexible knife 119 is fed outof the hollow finger 86 into the interior of the oyster for severing the meat from the shell. For this purpose a roller 120 is carried by the finger 86, and a ca1n'121 isprovided for guiding .said roller and for propelling it lengthwise of the finger. A pin 122 passes through a slot l 123 on the upper portion of the finger 86 and connects said roller 120 to. the knife 119 and.

serves at the same time as a pivot for the roller.120. This cam 121 is formed upon an arc-shaped plate, (shown at 124,) with its center at the axis of the shaft 8, and mounted upon brackets 125 and 125', which inay be shaped as shown at Fig. 2. Of course the jaws 22 and .23 arrive at ,the plate 124 at the proper time for the knives. 119 toenter the oyster. The roller 89 moving in an are about the shaft 8 maintains the pivot 98 at the right distance for the roller 12Q to come into enagement with the cam 121 as soon as the aws reach the saidcam. The knife in cutting off a meat strikes the shell'and followsits contour --in .its downward course, the smooth shell acting asv a guide, the flexibilityv of the knife allowing it to act as described.

It now only remains'to explain how the meats and the shells are dropped at diflerent invert the oyster, whereby the end operated upon points downward. 'The opening made its full size and large enough before'the. A fingers are next removed,

points, during their circular travel. The falling out of the meat takes lace simply-by au-v ves, (the fingers tomatically removing the 86 and 87 remain stationary, holdingthe shells apartnearly one-fourth of a revolu tion of shaft 8 takes place before the fingers release) which 'will permit the loosened] oyster meat to drop out by gravity as soon as a the main wheel 38 has rotated far enough to knives enter. {The because the roller 90 is-moved by the cam 88 "at the-*portioIr SS toward the centerofithe shaft, thereby-operating the gearing991an'd -108 and rotating the finger 86 and by similar means rotating the finger 87'out of the end operated upon; but the jaws do not open until the'shellisto be discharged, the gripp' -'-springs 44 giving way enough forthe shel to openlwhile the jaws are still closed,

while the opening of the jaws 22 andf23 at a subsequent time, probably a few seconds later, will release the shells. The empty jaws continue totravel-circularly until they reach the pusher-lever 1, where they are fed with further oysters successively as before.

Amodification' of the grinders is shown in Fig. 1; A represents a narrow disk for cutting a narrow groove at the hinge and to the full depth intended. The next, B, grinder is broader, which does not make the cut in the oyster any deeper, but broader, while the grinder G is broader yet, both B and C being tapered on their eripheries' for making the cutslanting, as s own in 1.) Finally,

the grinder D is.broadest of all andnot tapered for cutting-off protruding edges, and it hing'fs there'- "of and cutting "the meat .from't e shells --6. The process of shucking 'sisting in grinding through the hinges thereis evident that this broadest one may be the first to grind. The object of this successive grinding and tapering, &c., is to give a shape of aperture in the oysterthat is best adapted to receive the fingers 115. (See also Fig. 6.)-

WVc claim as our invention- 1. The process, of shucking an oyster, consisting in removing the hinge by successive grindings which sunder the nexus between the shells while producing a suitably-enlargedapcrture pulling the shells apart and severing the muscles attaching the meat tothe 'shells by instruments introduced through the aperture and separately depositing the meat and shells.

- 2. The process of shuckingan oyster, consisting in removing portions of the shells by continual circular movement of the oysters,

'while insubstantially vertical positions, so

that the holes are not yet below the horizontal, causing the oysters to continue theircircular movement, and then turning the oys-' ters upside down for discharging the meats.

from the shells by gravity.

*4. The process of shucking an oyster consisting in producing a hole in and thereby weakening the hinge-connection between its shells, separating the shells and removing thc'meat.

5.. The process of shucking oysters, consisting in grinding through the through the openings thus made.

of, pulling the shells apart, cutting the meat made, and discharging t e meat t rethrough by the action of gravity.

7. The process of shucking'oysters,.con v sisting in grinding through the-hinges thereof, cutting the meat from the shells, and dropping the meats and the shells at different laces. p 8. The process of shucking oysters, consisting in grinding holes in the shells by successive abrasive actions, pulling the shells roo o sters, c-onapart by means applied at the sides of the ap ertures produced, sufiiciently far to allow introduction of knives for severing the meat from the shells,.releasing the meat by the action of gravity, at one'location, and dropping the shells ata different'location.

sisting in causing themto travel along a path insu'ccession with alltheir corresponding 9.- The process of shucking oysters, con-- 11 from the shells throu h the o ening thus v partsmoving in the same line, cutting larger andfl arger holes at successive locations of said path, partly separating the shells from each other and thus ,enlarging the openings, severing-the meats from the shells by cutting the muscles which connect said meats to sai shells, and finally dropping the shells at another location of-the trave 10. The process of shucking oysters, consisting in destroying the hinges and severing the retainmg-muscles during ,the continued circular movement of said oysters while in substantially vertical positions with the hingesupward, causing the o sters to continue their circular travel, an then turning the oysters upside down for discharging the meats from the shells.

11. The process of shucking oysters, consisting in propelling them along a circular path in successionwith all their hinges moving inbut one circle, grinding off part of the shells at the hinges at one point of travel, then grinding ofi more of the material of the.

shell at a farther part of the travel, and so on until no 'hinges'remain and holes are formed at the places of the hinges existing originally, severing the oysters muscles while still mov-' ing in a circle by an action from without and through the openings thus made, and then removing the. meats from between the' shells.

to release the meats, and severing the muscles from the shells, then turning the oysters to a downward position for releasing the meats.

, 13. The process of shucking oysters, consisting in moving oysters toward a center of revolution against a resisting force of a yielding nature acting outward radially, positively blocking the outward movement of the oysters for preventing their outermost edges from passing a single circle, gripping the oysters circularly, causing them to continue their travel in a circle, cutting holes through said outermost edges, pulling the shells a art, cutting the meats from the shells throng the openings thus made while the oysters are still traveling in a circle, and then removing the meats from the shells while the latter are still traveling in a circle.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names and affixed our seals this 31st day of May, 1905.

EDWARD L. TORSCH. [n 8.] JOHN HENRY PARKER. [11.8.] 

